It isn’t all the time I am blessed enough to chop it up with platinum selling duos from across the globe, so you can imagine the giant ball of enthusiasm I was when I sat down (virtually of course) to interact with the founding fathers of South African art in music PLXYGRND, Kyle Keys and Glo The Beats.
This conversation did a number on me, as I was in awe at how expressive the duo was in communication. It easily blends into their craft of music production on so many levels. Initially, I was blown away by the level of banter between these showstopping faces in music, but it wasn’t repelling in any way.
If anything, it was a warm welcome and most definitely a “time with the bros” moment. In an hour (which I am cheerful Kyle and Glo would also have wished to go on and on), I managed to absorb the very nature of PLXYGRND and develop a newfound inspiration on my yellow-brick road of music discovery.
For Kyle, whose love for music dates way back to his passion for heavy rock music and for Glo, who has gone through a series of difficult events to become a sonic savant in mixing and audio mastery, PLXYGRND is a home of love, and it shows. Glo and Kyle found themselves in the brother of fraternity and desire to create impeccable music. And thus, PLXYGRND was born.
“We didn’t really have to think about it. It just happened because we knew that this is what we wanted to achieve with music for South Africa and create good connections with the artists we work with”. Kyle remarks expressively and with much enthusiasm when asked about the origins of PLXYGRND.
The mainly South African production house never misses when it comes to the truth of unveiling new music to the South African natives and the people of the world. And if you fail to take my word for it for some unknown reason, their work with Ricky Tyler and Gemma Griffith on “Bad News” is a testament that a beat can be produced easily, but a bond with the artists in mention is the goal.
“Ricky is very talented”, says Glo The Beats, who I noticed got rather excited talking about South African rap wunderkind Ricky Tyler. “It’s easy to work with him, and with Bad News, Gemma was so fun. She was into everything we brought to her, and it was very special and fun to complete yet another project with very gifted people.”
What sets PLXYGRND apart from all other production studios, at least the ones I’m aware of, is that the artist is their priority. “It’s all about developing artists for us. We love to help them express themselves in the best and most authentic way possible and also challenge them to discover better ways to improve their sound,” states Kyle.
With scandals rearing their heads from time to time about how production studios rip off their clients, it was a breath of fresh air, to me, most significantly, to discover the motive behind every occurrence from the dynamic duo. “We like to plan ahead too.
It’s never a time where anything is rushed with us. We just interact with the artist and make sure that they get the best of us. They always do”. Interacting on levels of whether or not the duo would ever release behind-the-mic style music (get excited!) they easily are into the idea.
It might be coming sooner than we anticipated. ” I do pretty well with working on melodies and harmonies, and I do sing a bit, but Glo doesn’t”, Kyle expresses as he shares a laugh with Glo on the obvious fact. “But we’re not closed off to the idea of creating music together. If anything, it makes us excited to do it”.
One might be wondering, how on earth do a rock junkie/ photo-video pro like Kyle and a music mix master like Glo pull it off on the music field all the time. The answer is simple: connection. “There got to a point in time where we wanted to work on a video, and we couldn’t find the means to, but because I have experiences with photography and videography.
I was like, “Okay, maybe we don’t have to look for someone. We could just do it ourselves”. And we did, and we never stopped.”, Kyle recollects. For Glo, quite literally, music mastery is his playground, as he sees it as a medium of availing himself to all the influences he derives inspiration from, including Kanye “Ye” West. ” I feel like a little kid when I’m in the studio.
Sometimes, Glo comes to me, and he’s shocked, like, “How do you do it?” But it just comes from the love I have for playing around with sound. It’s not something I have to think about. I just do it. And I’m excited to dive deep into Dolby Atmos. That way, it’s an immersive way for listeners to experience everything that comes with a record”.
The people will not have to wait long for new music from PLXYGRND Studios because a very diverse, very different approach might be closer than we think in terms of their music.
“We just want to make music that can sit on everyone’s playlist, not just people from South Africa. We want everyone to relate to our music and enjoy it worldwide because we don’t like to limit ourselves in any way when it comes to the creative aspects of producing music. So we woudn’t like to limit the people who enjoy our music as well”.
From conversing on levels on what it takes to make a Kyle Keys approved music video (specifically lighting, expert grading and a ton of editing) to working with diverse artists in the future internationally like Stormzy and Hayley Williams, PLXYGRND continues to prove that with every feat, the end goal is complete excellence.
The duality these two come with meets at the most creative intersections, and as a long-time fan, it is genuinely a thrill to see what lies ahead for the absurdly genius duo.
